Anyone else struggle with Physics?
 

Just got done bombing my physics phinal.

Admittedly I didn't work as hard on this class as I should have this quarter. Unfortunately I was also taking Calc III (I think that went well) and Statics (went really well) and working so I just didn't have the time to dedicate to the class that it demanded.

I am not very smart, so it seems like I have to grind through twice as many problems in a math/science class to do well as the average person. So I guess that hurt me twice as badly since I didn't do as much homework as I should have in this class.

Still, I kept up with everything, did all the mandatory homework and labs etc. There just seems to be something specifically about physics that is not clicking in my head. Its not intuitive to me at all for some reason. It seems like something that comes naturally to some people. In talking with my classmates I discovered that most of the guys I talked to were getting As on exams/quizzes and not doing any homework. Either they are full of shit or fucking geniuses because I just dont see how thats possible.

The professor has a reputation for being unreasonably difficult and does not lecture well. The final took most people 5.5 hours. I ducked out after 4 because I just wasn't making progress anymore and felt like I was wasting my time by sitting there.

Anyway, has anyone else had this problem? I love calculus, I loved my statics class, they both play hand-in-hand with physics yet I fail big time when it comes to solving a complex physics problem. What gives?

I did fairly well in physics but Cal 1 and 2 killed me and pushed me out of engineering. Now, I'm a nobody.

I think I squeezed through Anatomy and Physiology with a B. Problem is no one gets accepted into nursing schools without an A here in the west coast. Oh well. Working 5 nights a week doesn't leave much time for class, seeing as though you're not only working 40 hours, but you have to find 40 hours to sleep during the day as well.

5.5 fucking hour exam? Holy shit. There is something wrong with that. Where are you going and what physics class is this?

What are you studying in physics? A lot of physics will come into play later in engineering but from a completely different point of view, and then you will have an ah-huh moment.

I always hated my math/science classes that werent taught by engineering profs cause they never looked at it from an engineering perspective. I'm not one for proofs theorems and laws.

Not being an "A" student in physics does not mean that you aren't a smart person, it just means your not that great at physics. Or, you might take the same class with a better professor and come away with a much better understanding of the material.
I hate math.

This is just the first class of the physics series so mechanics was this quarter. Next quarter is thermo.

The thought process around solving physics problems is completely different than any other class i've taken. Every problem is different and you can use every concept you've ever learned to solve one.

You really do have to be smart to do well in physics. Pretty much everything else seems like cut and dry concepts compared to it. I'd take a multi-variable calculus test over a physics test any day.

Is this physics with calculus? Aka: 201,202,203 series instead of 101,102,103? If so, I took that at OSU while I was still in engineering. Curve was set around a D, class average was easily a C. It was ridiculous.

Yes thats it. I hate that people can make this class look easy.

Out of 100 in our lecture group, about half a dozen got A's, 10 or 20 B's, the rest C's, D's, and F's. The school would have been fine with only one A, showing that if the prof teaches at least 90% of his material to 1% of the class, he must be a fine teacher.

Unfortunately, I am the 99%.

There are some people for whom physics is intuitive. I borrowed a friend's workbook once to take a look at how he had done some problem sets for orbital mechanics. It was useless to me as all of his solutions were three or four lines - the steps in between were obvious to him, so he didn't write them down.

You have to keep in mind most of the body of physics knowledge was/is created by people who see the world and go "huh. What kind of rules framework can account for this observed phenomena?" and then daydream up theories to explain it, that they then attempt to verify. The remainder of the body of physics knowledge is from the guys that see something and wonder what it is that might be there, that they aren't seeing.

So not being intuitively good at physics is probably some indication you're pretty normal.

Well this is demoralizing. I made the mistake of not taking any math since high school and now I'm starting at the equivalent of senior year HS algebra.

Out of curiosity, how many hours a week do you put into that school schedule? I'm gonna be doing pretty much the exact same thing (if I make it that far).

Dont even worry about it. I started at the equivalent of 8th grade algebra. I had (and still do) all odds stacked against me. Not to mention I spent the my years from 17 (dropped out of HS) til 24 finding out all the best ways to kill brain cells.

It doesn't matter if you start learning how to add and subtract. If you work hard, you'll find your way through any math class. My strategy to math has been this:

Master the fundamentals of the subject you're currently learning before moving on to the next. Math is a language and it takes the same amount of effort as any language to learn. If you wanted to learn japanese you'd have to immerse yourself in a culture of people speaking only japanese, no english. To learn math, you grind away at problems every day.

I put in the minimum effort in school because that is literally all the time I have to dedicate to it. Even at that, i'm scheduled out to the minute every day. Its a bitch, almost no time for a social life or doing things I enjoy (working on cars, racing, ETC). My closest friends have just finished their Chump car build and have raced it twice (once at leguna seca) and I had to back out of the whole thing because school and work take way too much time. Its tough watching everyone else have tons of fun while i'm seemingly miserable grinding away at physics, calculus, and statics problems day in and day out. Even on my lunch breaks at work. But it will be worth it in the end. Even if I still work at costco for the rest of my life, i'm going to school for personal fulfillment, not a paycheck.

Oops, went on a rant. Numbers. They say you need to spend 2 hours on homework for every hour of lecture/class time. I meet exactly that on average every week. So I'd say I spend 30 hours a week on homework, 15 hours a week in class/lab, and 24 hours a week at work. Thats 123 hours spent on school and work for a regular week. There are only 168 hours in a week. That leaves 45 hours for sleep. If you get 8 hours of sleep a night, that takes up a whopping 56 hours a week! I gained around 11 hours a week of time by cutting from 8 hours to 6.5 to 7 hours per night.

Its only 4-5 years if you're on the ball though. Its rough, but its supposedly rewarding in the end =P Again, though, this is my time budget. I'm really not very smart and require a lot more time spent on homework and grinding through problems than everyone else (it seems). And I could be getting even better grades if I didn't have to work and could spend 3-4 hours a night on homework. I typically get As in math, A- or Bs in science classes and easy As in any class that is based around writing (psychology, english, anthropology, etc).

Your doing advanced math, you are smart, and you seem to have a really good work ethic. I think your time at Costco is going to be limited.

Doing advanced math does not make you smart. Anyone can do it.

Working at Costco kicks ass. All I do is drive a forklift all day for the most part. Its a sweet job. My store manager has an ME degree and claims she makes a lot more working here than she did in her field.

Everyone has a vice when it comes to school. I barely graduated high school and slumped into community college. After my first year I was able to complete Calc.1 and Calc.2 in the same semester with 3 other classes while maintaining a 3.8. It's pretty much math math math math math math since.


but.....I bombed chemistry....I had to take it again a year later and I worked so fucking hard to squeeze out a B. It was the hardest fucking class I have ever taken and no matter what I did I struggled.

Physics is legit fun.

I have the same issue you do, but mine is with calc3 instead. There is just something about the way all math teachers teach calc, that I just simply dont understand. Im an incredibly visual person, I HAVE to see something to understand it, and no calc teacher has done this that I have taken to date. Physics is similar, but for the most part, since it is relating back to real world, I can see it a bit better and it makes a little bit more sense, and by that I mean not very much, but enough.

Same goes for statics. statics makes perfect sense. Hell, I even went into a quiz knowing I didnt know the material, came back with a 20/20 on it. I still dont know how I managed that, but im not complaining.

Well fuck. That sounds nuts but it's good to know what I'm getting into. Though honestly I'd be ok with taking my time with classes and having a job at the same time. I think I'd probably take 2 classes per quarter max when I get to that level. I'm enjoying my somewhat laidback life at the moment.

It's going to take me 3 years just to get the math out of the way before I can transfer and that's if I don't fail any of them. And I don't know how well I will handle chem/physics. I feel like time is ticking away.

At least you're motivated now, I barely made it through high school because I simply did not want to do anything. I'm getting there...slowly.

I'm just starting school in spring for Mech Engineering. I am more than impressed that you work and do school. I however feel bad that your GPA is dependent on your proffesors being a douch. Sadly there is no "my teacher was a dick" clause in your transcript. Sadly like a lot of things one person gets one thing and then fails at another. For example: I can burst a M240B a person sized hole at 600yds but can't do reliable algebra equation.

Really? You should come to BC. Easy peasy to get into nursing school here.

Ugh, I feel like a dummy. I just started college 11 years after leaving highschool with a GED (never made it past hs algebra). I just finished Eng 1101 (was a breeze) and I had to take math 098. I had struggled with the first half of the class and bombed two tests and 3 quizzes. Second half was easy. So I took my final on Monday and waited to see my grade pop up online. Sure nough, I passed the calss which made me eligible to retake the math part of the COMPASS so I could get to my next math class. I went to take that yesterday, got there and I was not on their list of eligible students. Great. Went and talked to the head of the math dept. and he found the error and I got to take my test. Passed. The COMPASS was far easier than what I was learning in class. Now I get to take my next english class and math class. I passed my first semester. Go me.

I do suck at math though. It doesn't click with me at all. I even went as far as to program my calculator to do quadratic equations for me...or at least tell me if I had to do it the long way or not. Since I plan on going into a geology field (either mining or petroleum), I know I'm in for the long haul in math.

I try and forget it - that and calc. Org chem was a bitch too - but I AM the 99% that doesn't use their degree anyway, so what's it matter... Maybe there will be a helacious curve and you'll end up getting a B - but then there's always that smart Mother F who screws it all for everyone else...

If anyone every needs help with math I highly recommend heading over to Kahn Academy and watching the videos on whatever you are having problems with. I don't think I have ever seen someone make math seem so easy as this guy does.

physics made simple:

http://danieljmitchell.files.wordpre...2/einstein.jpg

Seems like quite a few engineers on here. I'm hoping to be bitching about Physics sometime next year with you guys. I'll be heading to UNC- charlotte to study mechanical engineering and possibly a concentration in motorsports.

This thread makes me glad I only have to take stats for the bsn program.

^me.

So why do you drive a race car and I'm working in a bookstore?

Oh wait, I remember. I got a philosophy degree and I bet you got something useful like a business degree.

For me the big weed out course was Thermo 2. I failed that the first time through along with 90% of my class mates. Literally only one person in the class received a passing grade.

Physics was ok for me especially all the mechanical stuff until the second class where it got into the bazar stuff that is hard to wrap your head around like electric and magnetic field theory stuff I had issues grasping that.

Bob

Seeya next year then huh?

Thermo was tough. Luckily, I had a professor that made it simple; you either learned the stuff or you failed. He quized at least once a week, and if it was obvious people weren't getting it, he tried the same material again until people did get it.

My roommate used to wake up screaming from nightmares about Calc IV. I was seroiusly concerned for his sanity at one point.

Really hoping to, Gotta sell my damn house first! Lots of equity so if I have to sell cheap I will. Are you just starting?

In all seriousness, if any one needs tutoring in math, don't be afraid to send me a PM. I've been tutoring at the local college for a while now and also do help over skype, email, etc...

Anything from basic algebra to calc.4 and anything in between. Just let me know and I'll be glad to help.

No skype sex until homework is done :giggle:

In my thermo class you could do all the homework problems understand how they worked and when you went in to take a test it felt like all the problems were from another class you hadn't bothered to go to all year and on a different subject and you were under a time crunch to complete all the problems in the allotted time. Even if you could find old tests it didn’t help.

Thermo I => A
Thermo II => F
Thermo II => A second time with new instructor
Heat transfer => A
Fluid Mechanics => A

Bob

Lots of A's in here. I've got to get my shit together. I got a bunch of B's in everything.

I assume this carries some importance when I try to transfer.

Physics wasn't too bad for me, but at Calc II I started questioning my direction (mech. engineering) and looked at some Comp Sci. and philosophy courses that looked fun. Calc III clinched the ME thing for me, and I've been happily programming computers for the last 20 years (while my BA, Phil. collects dust).

Yep, it will make a big difference depending on what you are getting into. I have to retake a couple of classes (Trig and now physics) to get my GPA up to a good enough level. You may get into the school you want, but the program you are looking at may be super competitive. Around here, mechanical engineering programs are really difficult to get into, very competitive.

You can show up naked smeared with shit and they'll let you into civil engineering =P

For the record, I was a HS dropout. Dropped out at 17 with only one credit left to graduate. Went back to college for a bit when I was 22 to work on math then full bore when I was 24 (last year) to work on my engineering transfer.

There is a reason that valuable degrees are worth it. They are a lot of hard work, they kick your ass, but you learn a lot and can have a lot of fun if you make it your hobby.

My friends make fun of me when they come over and see endless reams of scratch paper with computations all over the place lol.

Man I wish I could get a bunch of A's...

Don't worry about it OP. I am in my 4th year of mechanical engineering rocking a 2.4 GPA, and I have had an internship with US Air and am going to have one with MoTeC. Just keep at it, and most importantly, join a FSAE team haha.

Bits of wisdom gleaned from my 100 years as an Engineering student:

1.) Your boss makes more money as a Costco manager than she did as an engineer because she was a poor engineer, not because Costco pays its managers so well. There are excellent female engineers, but there are also a very great number of really bad ones. The female brain tends to be really excellent at retaining knowledge, and really terrible at applying that retained knowledge to real world examples. That isn't sexist, its just that they're genetically wired differently than men are. Their evolutionary motivations and advantages don't lend themselves to engineering as much as they do to other sciences.

2.) Having a degree does NOT make you a good engineer. My dad is one of the best engineers I have ever met, and he has a geography degree. One of the local ricer kids has his Masters in Aerospace Engineering, and he's too stupid to tie his own shoes.

3.) For me, having really good examples, and learning WHAT you're doing with the numbers makes all the difference in the world. You may be able to smash all the steps of your instructors favorite impulse/ momentum problems into your head and pass the test, but wrapping your brain around the concept that impulse is the amount of effort it takes to change the state of a body, and really absorbing the concepts involved helps me be able to really work my way through a problem instead of memorizing a list of steps that may or may not be applicable in real world design problems.

BTW, that Kahn Academy looks really promising. That's getting saved for next semester.

I got myself into a world of crap on another forum, because I posted nearly the same thing. Male engineers do it because they like it, and continue to do engineering outside the workplace. Every good engineer I've ever worked with, without exception, is into cars, R/C, model rocketry, clockmaking, model engines or some other form of engineering. Women leave work, and that's it. For them, it's a job, not a passion. However, women make better engineering managers. Being able to handle nerds is like raising children, I guess.

I've worked with many who are good in a classroom, but couldn't engineer a good piss. Book learning is different from application to the real world. Most doctorates are nearly helpless when it comes to solving problems, at least until they get half a dozen years of experience.

nope, 3/5 years currently.

Damn! Is it worth trying??

Also, for everyone posting about book smarts versus actually applying said smarts to the real world, I couldnt agree with you more! I know some people who dont even understand the concept of how an engine runs... but thats just the way things are.

This. Fuck Calculus.

I write my physics final tomorrow and I dunno. It's AC circuitry involving lots of integration and differentiation, I had 94% until our last test that had a 50% avg! I had physics locked down until the stuff we started covering in the last few weeks and I'm not alone in my class.

Wow, very timely. I just got done taking finals all week last week. I'm ME as well. Took cal 3, diff eq, physics two, and statics and dynamics this semester. Stuff got rough, but I came out with a pair of A's and B's. Physics gets tough, especially when taking high level math courses. I have a lot of friends who I consider more intelligent than myself, who got C's and D's in physics. It doesn't seem to have meant much though, they are doing just as well as I am in their eng. courses. Physics covers a lot of material so it gets hard to organize it all in your head. What's important is that you can hone in and become great at the material you deal the most with in your specific discipline.

Although, after this semester I've begun to realize how much I find this engineering boring, so I may be switching out.

Well grades came back. A in statics, B in physics (unexpected) and a C in CalcIII. That sucks, I really thought I did better in calc III :( Looks like i'll be revisiting that class in the spring.

Maybe you just need to know your limits.










(sorry)

That's not bad, was it your first attempt?

If you need some help, just send me a PM.

Im taking calc 2 for engineers and physics for engineers. Looking forward to physics but not calc 2 everyone tells me its the most difficult because the integration.

Yep first attempt. I'll hit you up for help with linear algebra next quarter for sure.

Clos, Cal 2 is definitely the hardest of the tradition Cal 1,2,3. I got a B in that class, iirc I got like an 84-86. The best advice I can give you is not to psych yourself out. A good friend of mine who I'd study with always seemed to know the material better than myself, but never did as well on tests, and inevitably got a low C or high D in the class. The material is quite tricky, yes, but its not terrible and can typically be reasoned out once you get a really good handle on the calculus basics.

Wayne, I'm quite impressed by your A in statics. For me that was 10x more challenging than cal 3 ever got. And if you need help in cal 3, feel free to PM me too, I've taken it as my responsibility to help friends with cal 3 after I managed to get a 100.5% test average and exempted the final. Btw, I too got a very unexpected B in physics, I was confident I was getting a C.

Soo I think I just failed my Diff EQ final... god damn it. Guess I am taking it again...

I got an Easy A in calc 2. I bipassed the final because I did so well on all the exams.

Some people favor Calc 1 and 3 and struggle with 2. I struggled with 1 and 3 and did awesome with calc 2. Calc 2 was most definitely my favorite math class ever.